


Sole Survivor (Nick)

by TheBannedAuthor



Category: Left 4 Dead 2
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Heavy Rain - Freeform, I apologize in advance, Multiple Major Character Deaths, Sad, Tragedy, Violence, god why can i never write something happy, hurt without comfort, literally you will cry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-08
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-08-13 23:30:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7990249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBannedAuthor/pseuds/TheBannedAuthor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Ellis you’re bleeding.”</p>
<p>“Well yeah. The hunter just tried to dig for gold in my chest.”</p>
<p>“No, your shoulder.” Rochelle put down the blanket, moving Ellis’s shirt collar aside. “. . . Ellis.”</p>
<p>The grim tone in her voice caught Nick’s attention and he turned around. Rochelle was looking at him, still holding the collar of Ellis’s shirt back. On his shoulder was a circle of dark puncture marks.</p>
<p>“What?” Ellis looked toward Nick, his eyes wide. “What is it?”</p>
<p>Why did he have to be the one to say it? </p>
<p>Nick lowered his eyes, not able to look at Ellis. “Ellis… it’s a bite.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sole Survivor (Nick)

Rain. Fucking. _Sucks_.

He’d never really hated rain before- he’d found a slight sprinkling useful for a romantic moment, which of course is on a long list of things he’d never admit to- but after being dropped off in a torrential downpour to pick up a few cans of gas, Nick hated rain more than anything in the world.

Not only was it cold and also made it hard to see even two feet in front of him, it had soaked straight through his suit jacket making it way a fucking ass-ton and slowing him down. He could’ve taken off the jacket but then he might’ve lost it forever. The suit was the one thing left in the world that was his. Even a cold hearted son of a bitch like himself wouldn’t be able to part with it.

He could tell the others were slowed down as well due to the rain but not so much as him. That left Nick trailing behind the others- even Coach who was bound to give him shit for it later when and if they made it out alive.

Another thing that made the rain a pain in his ass: it was great at hiding the zombies (who were actually what Nick hated most in the world now that he came to think of it). For some reason this area had more fucking witches than Nick had ever seen, hiding around every corner and as a bonus the sound of the rain covered up their cries. Most of the time it was Ellis that alerted the witch but they all had their fair share of spooks. He’d counted a total of seven they’d run across and four they’d disturbed, all of which ended with getting them scratched up and- thankfully- not killed. They’d been pretty fortunate until the charger got Coach.

There was a roar and the big bitch tore through the wall of a building, catching Coach before any of them could react. “Ah shit-“ Nick said, aiming his shotgun at the charger, trying to get a clean shot off as it pummeled Coach into the ground. Ellis and Rochelle were too far ahead of them to help and they were surrounded by dozens of the dead themselves.

Nick fired round after round at the charger as he moved toward it, attracting more of those bastards to him. He finally brought it down with a triumphant shout, running over to Coach as a crowd around the other two started moving toward him.

“C’mon big guy don’t get sleepy on me.” He said, offering Coach a hand up. The big man groaned, taking Nick’s hand, unsteady on his feet. “I don’t know how much more I can take of this.” Coach told Nick.

“Don’t give me that shit man!” Nick raised the shotgun again, leading Coach forward. “We’ve been through worse than this. Remember the fucking swamp? C’mon get your gun up.”

Coach shook his head but straightened up. He checked the mag on the assault rifle and shook his head again, looking up at the incoming horde. “I’m all out.” He threw the gun aside, “Lucky thing I found this back on the boat.” He said, unsheathing the katana from the holster on his back. “Ready?”

“Fuck yeah!” Nick fired into the crowd, taking down one of the zombies closing in on him. He lowered the gun, having to reload, “Ah fuck no.”

Rapid gun fire went off as Ellis ran up from the back of the horde, a sub machine gun in hand. Rochelle also had a bat which she used to beat the zombies back away from Nick, giving him a grin. “Thought we’d let you old guys catch up.”

“Hardy har har.” Nick rolled his eyes, helping them clear out the crowd around them. “I’ll show you ol-“

“HUNTER!” Ellis shouted, firing at a blur that flew through the sky and landed on him. Nick was the first to react, running toward Ellis and tackling the hunter off him. He rolled to the side as the hunter recovered and starting toward him to attack but not before Rochelle swung at its head with the bat, taking the hooded figure down.

Nick winced pushing himself to his feet, “Think an old guy can do that?” He didn’t tell her that he thought he’d pulled a muscle with that tackle.

Rochelle raised her eyebrows, “Sure, now let’s get these guys out of the rain.” Ellis was lying on the ground from the hunter attack and Coach was still uneasy on his feet. She put Coach’s arm around her shoulders, “Looks like there’s a safe house ahead!”

“Go _go_ we’re right behind you!” Nick bent down, “Ellis you there?”

“Auuuuuuugh-“ Ellis’s eyes fluttered open. His shirt had been torn up and there were scratch marks down his chest from the attack but he was otherwise unharmed, “Nick? What happened?”

Nick pulled Ellis up, putting an arm around his waist, holding the shotgun in the other hand. “Hunter sliced you up like Thanksgiving dinner. Don’t worry you’ll live. Can you walk?”

Ellis nodded but the movement in his legs was almost non-existent. Nick half-carried, half-dragged Ellis toward the safe house, giving a witch on the steps of one of the neighboring houses a wide berth. If she noticed them she didn’t chase after them.

“Close the fucking door!” He bawled when they made it to the safe house. Rochelle slammed the door shut, moving the metal bar in front of it. She breathed a sigh of relief, “That was too close.”

“Yeah next time I vote we don’t go out in the hurricane.” Coach said, sitting up against the wall in a corner of the room, “Let’s just stay home. Make chicken soup. Watch old movies.”

“Sure honey, and then we’ll cuddle under the comforter.” Nick helped Ellis onto the table. “How you feelin’, champ?”

“I feel like a tractor ran over me.” Ellis gave him a slight grin, “Which, come to think of it, has happened to Keith three times.”

“How the hell is he still alive?” Nick asked, “Er _was_ alive, you never know.” He looked over toward Coach, “How ‘bout you? Ready to run a 5K?”

Coach scoffed, closing his eyes, “Yeah. Faster than your ass could.”

“All right boys, settle down.” Rochelle grabbed a blanket, “Nick, see if you can find some first aid kits. They’re usually lying around somewhere.” She went to wrap a blanket around Ellis’s shoulders but then paused, “Ellis you’re bleeding.”

“Well yeah. The hunter just tried to dig for gold in my chest.”

“No, your shoulder.” Rochelle put down the blanket, moving Ellis’s shirt collar aside. “. . . Ellis.”

The grim tone in her voice caught Nick’s attention and he turned around. Rochelle was looking at him, still holding the collar of Ellis’s shirt back. On his shoulder was a circle of dark puncture marks.

“What-“ Ellis leaned back, looking down at his shoulder, “The hell is that?”

“Ellis….” Rochelle’s expression had softened, between pity and despair.

Coach stood up, moving closer. “Ah goddammit.” He said under his breath, getting a good look at the wound.

“What?” Ellis looked toward Nick, his eyes wide. “What is it?”

Why did he have to be the one to say it?

Nick lowered his eyes, not able to look at Ellis. “Ellis… it’s a bite.”

“Wh-what? No! No it can’t-“ Ellis hopped down from the table, moving his sleeve down. “Shit- shit on a fucking shingle!”

“Ellis listen-“ Nick moved toward him. Ellis backed away, almost like he was scared Nick was going to hurt him. “We- we don’t know if the bite actually does anything? I mean none of us have seen it right?” He looked toward Rochelle and Coach, hoping they would back him up. “Right?”

Coach looked at the floor, staying silent. Rochelle sighed, “It’s… possible. We’ve never really seen anyone turn. It could be nothing.” But her words were empty. They all knew what was about to happen. But Nick- for some reason he couldn’t accept it.

“Exactly!” Nick turned back to the cupboard he’d been digging through, “We’ll just get you a med-kit and you’ll be all better.”

“…Nick-“

“Shut up Ellis you’re gonna be fine!”

“Nick-“  Rochelle started to say but she was silenced by a look he gave her. She nodded, “All right. Let’s stay here a couple hours. See what happens.”

So they waited. Nick found a couple med-kits and Rochelle was able to stich up the cuts on Ellis’s chest. The pills she found helped Coach but Ellis just got worse. Within an hour his fever started. His face turn white as a sheet and started to sweat. His body was throwing off heat- Rochelle tried to cool him down with a cloth soaked in cool water but it didn’t help. Pain shot through every muscle in his body. Nick and Coach tried to move him to the cot on the floor but he cried out when they touched him. Even the water Rochelle gave him didn’t stay in his stomach for long.

“This is bad man.” Coach told Nick, looking through the boarded up window. “Rain hasn’t let up. We don’t leave soon it’s gonna start flooding.”

“Well the boat man’s not gonna leave without us. Not like he can get anywhere without the gas.”

“Guys,” Coach and Nick turned to Rochelle. She wiped her forehead and glanced back at Ellis, “He’s gotten worse. He can’t be moved. Not unless we carry him.”

“We can make the cot into a stretcher.” Nick said. “We’ll take turns carrying it. One of us goes ahead to clear a path and warn us if there are any crying bitches ahead. And the rain will cool him down.”

“I don’t know, Nick. It might just make him sicker.”

“Stop-“ Ellis’s voice was barely above a whisper. “Just stop ya’ll… we gotta be real about this.”

Nick exhaled, looking over at him, “Kid-“

“I’m not stupid. I know what’s happenin’ to me.” Ellis cringed as he sat up, “I know I’m dyin’. I’m just a burden to you.”

“We don’t know-“

“I can feel it Nick.” Ellis moved his eyes up to the ceiling, looking like he was trying not to cry. “I won’t make it out there. I’ll die and I’ll turn and attack you guys and I ain’t lettin’ that happen.”

Rochelle moved forward, kneeling in front of the cot. “Then what do you want us to do Ellis? We can’t just leave you here.”

He looked down at her, “You can. You gotta.”

“This is bullshit.” Nick went toward him, staring Ellis down, “Stop being a fucking martyr you asshole! You’re just giving up now? After all we’ve been through!”

“I’m not-“ Ellis closed his eyes, taking a breath as he tried to bury the pain he was feeling. “I’m not givin’ up. I’m makin’ a choice here. I’m choosing to save your lives.” He looked between Coach and Rochelle, appealing to them. “I’ll only slow you down. Put you in danger. I won’t let that happen.”

“So we just leave you here? You’ll die and turn anyway.” Nick gestured toward the door. “We keep going and we may find something in New Orleans- a cure even!”

“He won’t make it that far.” Coach straightened up, meeting Ellis’s eyes. “Nick, _drop it_. Man’s made his choice.”

Nick shook his head, looking at Rochelle, “You’re not buying into this shit are you?”

Rochelle opened her mouth, her eyes watering. She gulped, staring at her feet, “There’s not many other options.”

Nick stared at her. He clenched his fists, gritting his teeth. “I don’t believe you two. Some fucking friends you are!”

“They are. And so are you Nick.” Ellis’s voice was much calmer than his. “And that’s why you’re gonna leave me here with your spare piece and get as far away from this goddamn place as you can.”

Nick threw his arms up in the air, almost laughing, “Oh so that’s your big plan? _Suicide?_ ”

Ellis nodded, “I ain’t becomin’ one of em’. I’ll die before I let that happen.”

Nick rubbed his temples, squatting down in front of Ellis, trying one last time to reason with him. “You’ve got a fever you don’t know what you’re saying. Ellis… you’re talking about killing yourself. One shot- one bullet- and you’ll be gone.”

Ellis looked at Nick, his eyes just on him. “I know that. It’s what I want. Nick… it’s gonna be okay.” After all Ellis had been through he was reassuring Nick. Irony was a bitch.

Nick looked at Ellis for a long time, seeing him with clearer eyes than he ever had. Then he lowered his eyes, “Fucking... fine. You win.”

The corner of Ellis’s mouth lifted, “Thanks buddy.”

Nick shook his head, standing up. He moved over toward the window, not looking at any of them. He leaned against the wall, looking outside as Rochelle and Coach said their goodbyes to Ellis. He heard them speaking but couldn’t make out any of the words they were saying. If it had been near the beginning, Nick wouldn’t have given a damn if any of them had died. It was the end of days, people dying was gonna happen whether he liked it or not. If he’d had known he’d eventually become attached to these guys he would have just split off from them after they’d left Savannah. But he didn’t. He stayed with them. He’d fought with them, bled with them, been to hell and back and to hell again with them. And Ellis… the kid meant something to Nick. Ellis was an idiot but he had balls. He was brave and stupid and hopeful and childish and maybe one of the best friends Nick ever had. Nick noticed that Rochelle and Coach were closer to each other than they were with the other two men, and Nick was closer to Ellis than anyone else.

He’d never be able to tell him to shut up again. Never cuss him out when he made a stupid decision. Never hear him talk about his truck, or food, or his other redneck friends again. All that talking (god the guy could not shut his goddamn mouth) and now there would just be silence.

Nick was never very good with silence.

When Rochelle and Coach were done they stood up and moved toward the door. Rochelle put a hand on Nick’s shoulder, meaning to comfort him but it was just a hand. Any other day he might’ve told her to put it someplace more useful to comfort him but he couldn’t. He glanced at her, seeing that her face was wet. Goddammit he did _not_ want to do this.

“We’ll be right outside.” Coach said. “Take your time, Nick.” He opened the door, waiting for Rochelle to go out first. They probably wanted to leave to give him and Ellis privacy. Privacy for what? Nick wasn’t going to cry or anything. He’d just hand the dumbass the gun and then….

Rochelle gave his shoulder a squeeze before she went out. Coach looked at Nick, trying to tell him something with his eyes but Nick wasn’t in the mood to listen to some wise old black guy’s sage advice. He sighed, going out after Rochelle and shutting the door.

Now it was only them in the room. Nick and the dying boy behind him. He couldn’t even work up the nerve to look at him. He wanted to scream but he’d screamed enough already.

Ellis coughed, breaking the silence. “I ever tell you ‘bout the time Keith got bit by a gopher?”

Nick didn’t answer. Ellis chuckled to himself, his laugh mostly air. “Got bit in the ass a’ course. He was actually tryin’ to hunt for some cause he saw a cat doin’ it earlier. Told me he’d never eatin’ gopher before.” Ellis had to catch his breath but he continued his story. “So anyway what he does is he grabs a hose and an axe and he goes over and he tries spraying water in a couple of the holes but nothin’ comes out. So then he starts reachin’ in and he gets his hands on one of ‘em little bastards and it squirms out so he gets the hose again and starts trying to chase it out with the water but the little guy just pops out of one hole and goes into another. And at one point he’s turned up the hose all the way and water shoots out all the holes and he doesn’t know it-“ Ellis broke off at this point starting to laugh/cough as he neared the end of his story, “He doesn’t know it but he’s squatted near another hole so the little sucker just pops out and bites him right in the ass!”

“Ellis.” Nick made himself to look over at the kid, forcing a smirk. “Your friend was a dumbass.”

Ellis gave him a small grin. “Yeah I know.”

Nick took a breath and he went over, sitting down next to Ellis on the cot. He took out the pistol from the front of his pants, “You’re sure about this?”

Ellis looked the gun, nodding, “Sure as I’m ever gonna be.” His eyes raised to Nick, “…I’m scared Nick.”

“… I know.” Nick mustered all the courage he could and told the big lie. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Yeah….” Ellis moved his hand but couldn’t seem to grip the gun properly. Nick put the gun in his hands curling his fingers around the trigger. He bit his lip, moving up off the cot. He put a hand on Ellis’s shoulder. “I’m gonna miss you kid.”

Ellis smiled, “Nicest thing you ever said to me Nick.”

“Yeah don’t get used to it.”

“…Nick?”

Nick looked back down. “Yeah?”

Ellis licked his lips, “Keith’s not real. I made him up.”

“…you son of a bitch.” Nick couldn’t help but grin, “You totally got me on that one.”

“I did?” Ellis chuckled, “I did have a friend named Tyler. Some of the stuff that I said happened to me an’ him. Don’t know why I made up Keith. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I guess it was to make my life seem more… excitin’ than it really was. Truth be told nothin’ much happened to me… had a job at an auto shop, not a lot of friends, no girlfriend. Spent my days not at work getting’ high with Tyler or driftin’ to other places.” Ellis sobered up, staring ahead. “Funny. Took the world endin’ for my life to start.”

“… I was an ex-con. Well not ex… I escaped a few days before all this started. All I had time to do on the outside was steal this suit.” Nick wasn’t sure why he was telling Ellis this but it seemed like the right thing to do since Ellis confessed the lie about his past to him.  “Fucking ironic that I got my life back when the world ended.”

Ellis stared at him and started laughing, “You’re shitting me! You were in prison?”

Nick smirked, “Yeah yeah laugh it up. I’m a hardened criminal.”

“Sure you are.” Ellis started coughing as he was laughing. When he stopped he cleared his throat. “… Thank you Nick.”

“Stop thanking me. For the record I still think this is a bad idea.”

“It isn’t… not when ya think about it.” Ellis sighed, thinking a moment. He reached up taking his hat off his head, “Be a damn shame to put a bullet hole in this.” He looked at it for a moment, a small smile playing on his lips before holding it out to Nick. After a second of silence Nick took it, nodding as he stuffed it in his back pocket. “I’ll keep it safe for you.”

Ellis took a breath, lifting up the gun. “Nick… you don’t gotta look but… can ya’ just stay here? Till it’s over?”

Nick was silent for a moment and then sighed, “Yeah, sure.” He took a few steps forward, glancing back at Ellis. “Good luck, kid.”

Ellis nodded, “Luck to you too.” He lifted the gun up to his temple, and Nick turned away, squeezing his eyes shut.

There was no gunshot though. Nick didn’t hear anything. At first he thought he went deaf… but then he heard the sound of Ellis sobbing behind him. He turned around to see Ellis had dropped the gun onto the cot, his arms covered his face.

“I can’t do it. Goddammit I can’t do it!” His voice was muffled from behind his arms. It was the only time Nick had ever heard Ellis cry. He felt a rush of… something. Something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Nick moved back toward the cot, kneeling down. He knew what he had to do. He knew it and he hated it. He hated Ellis for making him do this. If Ellis wasn’t crying he might’ve screamed at him. But god help him he couldn’t do that to the kid.

Nick picked up the gun from the cot, sliding out the cartridge. Only one bullet left. “Ellis.” Ellis lowered his arms, his face trekked with tears. “There’s one bullet left.” Nick snapped the cartridge back in. “You better hope to god I don’t miss.”

Ellis sniffed. “You don’t gotta-“

“I do. Like I said I ain’t leavin’ you here to die.” Nick looked up at Ellis. “… you’re a fuckin’ idiot you know that right?”

Ellis smiled. “I still like you Nick.”

Nick put a hand on his shoulder, the most physical contact he could muster at the moment. He took a breath and raised the gun to Ellis’s forehead. Ellis moved forward so the gun was pressed right up against him. Goddammit Nick wished he would close his eyes but he looked at him straight on.

Nick forced himself to meet Ellis eyes, knowing this would be the last time he’d see them. _I’m sorry Ellis_ , was the thought he almost said aloud as he pulled the trigger.

Even through the heavy rain, they heard the gunshot go off and then silence. Coach looked back, waiting for the door to open but it didn’t.

“Maybe I should-“ Then Nick stepped outside, closing the door behind him. Rochelle and Coach turned when the heard the door slam shut.

Nick’s mouth was set in a firm line and he stared straight ahead. “Let’s get the fuck outta here.” He said, not looking at either of them as he marched ahead into the flood. Rochelle and Coach watched him walk away, catching a glimpse of a folded up baseball cap in his back pocket.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey look I wrote something. I promised myself my return to the fanfiction stage would begin with something sweet or cute or like normal but no it /had/ to be sad. This was like six months in the making and I'm still not quite pleased. Only beta I had was my mom.
> 
> This is mostly a test preview to see what people think. If there's a good reaction I plan on turning this into a full series, with each story ending in a "sole survivor". So Nick will be the only one alive left, this is the story of how he loses the three friends he made during the game. Warning you all ahead of time, so that people who don't like reading stories that focus on character death don't have to read. I have plans for a surprise at the end so I had this story gets a good enough reaction so I can reveal it. If this goes over well I'll probably have the next update in a few weeks. I'm a fast writer but slow updater.
> 
> I'm thinking of getting a beta for this story so if you'd like to volunteer, but I'd love some feedback overall.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
